Snowy Friday

The weather had been bad on the night I went to the Duke’s Head, but it had gotten a lot worse the next day. Basically, it was a UK blizzard, which is like a normal blizzard, but not really. Because we’re not used to snow, half an inch shuts down the entire country and makes us a laughing stock to parts of the world who get more snow than us. Anyway, weather is boring. I went down to the station to pick up Esther after work and we decided to go for a drink. We tried East Putney Tavern but it was heaving so we carefully tottered down to the Jolly Gardeners, not least fueled by the fact that they still have the Thornbridge Residency on taps.

Pint No. 64

What? – Thornbridge, Melba

Where? – Jolly Gardener’s, Putney

When? – Friday 2nd March 2018

After my successful sampling of the Thornbridge brewery on my last visit to the Jolly Gardeners, it was a no-brainer to try another. This time, it was their peach IPA, Melba that caught my eye. As you’d expect, it was super fruity, smelling really fresh and vibrant and obviously, peachy. There was also a bit of citrus in the smell and it is very yellow in colour. I was impressed with the taste, beery and peachy in equal measure, complementing each other well with neither overpowering the other. It was also, thankfully, not too sweet which I think fruit beers can often be. I would definitely buy this pint again.

Overall Score: 3.5/5

After chatting for a while, we decided that cooking for ourselves was out of the question. Instead, we’d brave the snow again and find some other mug to us a bit of grub. The mug in this case turned out to be some poor bastard in Wagamama’s. Obviously, you go to Wagamama’s and you have to have an Asahi. It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it’s the done thing.

Pint No. 65

What? – Asahi, Dry

Where? – Wagamama’s, Putney

When? – Friday 2nd March 2018

To be perfectly honest, there’s absolutely no way I’d pay for an Asahi unless I was in a Japanese restaurant. It’s just not for me. Whilst it’s basically got no flavour, my main issue with it is that it’s just too fizzy. You’re left feeling like you’ve chugged 2 litres of Fanta, smashed a tube of Mentos then spent 5 minutes on a trampoline. I will still buy one every single time I go to a Japanese place though, I can’t help it.